By Ireti Asemota.
In a devastating blow to a joyous occasion, armed bandits stormed Chacho village in Wurno Local Government Area, Sokoto State, late Saturday night, November 29, 2025, kidnapping a bride, her bridesmaids, and over 30 women and girls who had gathered to celebrate her upcoming wedding.
The brazen attack turned what was meant to be a night of music and anticipation into terror, with gunmen firing sporadically to scatter residents and herding victims into the darkness.
The Raid: Chaos at Midnight
Eyewitnesses described the assailants arriving around midnight, targeting the bride’s family home where well-wishers were staying overnight. The bride, preparing for her Sunday ceremony, was seized alongside her bridesmaids and other female guests—mostly from Sokoto city and neighboring Isa LGA.
A terrified resident, speaking anonymously for safety, told reporters:
“They came shooting into the air, forcing everyone to run. Women, children, elderly—all fled to the bushes. The bride’s home was the main target; they took her and anyone they could grab.”
The village, home to Sokoto State Commissioner for Special Duties Alhaji Shehu Alhaji Chacho, has seen repeated incursions, but this wedding-day horror marks a new low.
No Ransom Demands Yet, Families in Despair
As of Sunday evening, no contact from the kidnappers has been reported—no ransom demands, no threats. Relatives are frantic, with community leaders pleading for urgent intervention. The attack came hours after a N4 million ransom and motorcycle payment secured earlier victims’ release in nearby Rabah LGA—birthplace of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello—raising fears of emboldened criminals.
Sokoto APC Chairman Hon. Isah Sadeeq Achida confirmed the incident but couldn’t verify the bride’s abduction:
“Some residents were taken, but I don’t have the exact number yet.”
Attempts to reach Sokoto State Police PRO DSP Ahmed Rufai were unsuccessful—he neither answered calls nor responded to texts.
Sokoto’s Kidnapping Crisis Deepens
This raid is the latest in a wave of abductions ravaging Sokoto and the Northwest:
- November 29: Similar wedding attack in Sabon Birni LGA (bride and 4 bridesmaids taken by Bello Turji’s group).
- November 24: 9 vigilantes killed, wives abducted in Dantudu Lajinge, Sabon Birni.
- Ongoing: Marnona (Wurno LGA) saw farmers killed/abducted on November 23.
Sokoto’s border with Niger and Zamfara makes it a bandit hotspot, with groups like Turji’s imposing “levies” and terrorizing villages. Residents of Chacho, once peaceful, now flee nightly, their pleas for security falling on deaf ears.
As the bride’s family awaits word, Sokoto grieves another stolen future. Government action can’t wait—how many more weddings must end in chains?
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